New York Mets: The Cardiac Bullpen

For any of the Mets fans out there who saw last night's game, I must ask: did you seriously think K-Rod was going to close the door? After the bullpen gave back three runs and K-Rod proceed to load the bases (thanks in part to the glove work of Delgado) with only one out, I must admit, my initial reaction was not too positive.

Oh shit. Here we go again.

But as soon as I started cursing at my TV like it was 2008 all over again, K-Rod shut the door. A strikeout and a fly ball later, and the Mets were home free with a 2-0 record.

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
M Pelfrey (W, 1-0)	5.0	5	4	4	4	2	1	104-56	7.20
R Parnell (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	21-11	0.00
P Feliciano	0.2	2	2	2	1	1	0	17-11	27.00
S Green (H, 2)	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	4-3	0.00
J Putz (H, 2)	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	0	14-10	4.50
F Rodriguez (S, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	30-12	0.00
Totals	9.0	9	7	7	9	5	1	190-103

Even though the bullpen struggled tonight, I do have faith in this crew. I really like what I've seen so far out of Green, Putz, and K-Rod; even after tonight's somewhat shaky finish to the game. Bottom line: K-Rod got the save and that's exactly what the Mets are paying him the big bucks to do.

Make no mistake about it, this bullpen will be under intense scrutiny for the entire season. It doesn't make a difference that most of these guys in the bullpen were not around for 2007 or 2008.

What matters is that Mets fans have been so scarred by the late season demises over the past two seasons that the Mets bullpen needs to be dominant from the start.

I look forward to seeing if these guys can handle the pressure. But two games in: so far, so good.